The Gophers men's basketball program is adding a game to its schedule — a nonconference game against talent-laden Washington during its trip to the Vancouver Showcase in November — sources told the Star Tribune on Wednesday.
Minnesota was originally scheduled to play Texas A&M on Nov. 18 and then either Washington or Santa Clara on Nov. 20 at the Vancouver Convention Center. But now all four teams will play each other in a three-game, round-robin format. After playing Texas A&M (on the 18th still), the Gophers will take on Santa Clara on Nov. 20 and then Washington on Nov. 21.
Two home games were promised to the four teams participating in the Vancouver Showcase, but they couldn't be figured out before team schedules were announced last week. All parties continued to talk, and the additional games were finalized Wednesday.
Because the games were not originally scheduled as planned, the Gophers needed to get a waiver approved to add the two games: first, their season opener Nov. 6 against Nebraska Omaha at Williams Arena, and then this Washington game. The Huskies, who went 21-13 last season in the first year under Mike Hopkins. are expected to be contenders in the Pac-12.
Under NCAA rules, Division I basketball teams are allowed 29 regular season games, or 27 regular season games plus up to four additional games if they participate in a multi-team event such as the showcase. Minnesota now has the maximum 31 regular-season games scheduled for the 2018-19 season, including 20 games in the Big Ten regular season.
